Autumn is Rose Time

With Autumn upon us, now is the time to start thinking about Roses. As the weather cools and stabilises, it allows the Rose buds to fully develop rather than being ‘hurried along’ by the heat. Thats why many of the best Rose Shows are around Easter every year. I highly recommend to anyone contemplating Roses in their garden to go along to one of the shows and have a look. Make sure you’ve got a pen and paper and never be afraid to ask. Most aficionados are only too happy to help. Here’s a link to the upcoming Rose Society of Victoria’s Autumn Rose Spectacular at Gardenworld Nursery on the 6th & 7th of April http://www.rosesocietyvic.org.au/

Rose nurseries should now have their catalogues ready, so make sure to order yours. Here’s a link to Treloar Roses, one of our premier Rose suppliers and growers http://www.treloarroses.com.au/

APRIL- Now is the time when Roses are at there best. Use this time to weed out any under performing plants. Check out the shows and nurseries and order or purchase bare rooted stock at this time. Many nurseries and garden supplies have excess stock so you can find some real bargains at this time of year.

Keep up your Fungicide spraying programme if you’ve implemented one in the past.

MAY- Keep deadheading your Roses as some varieties will continue flowering well into next month and beyond. This also helps with the suppression of certain fungal diseases.

Dig out those plants that you no longer want and prepare the bed for the new bare rooted stock that is available.

If you’re not sure about anything that I’ve discussed, or don’t know whether you can implement some of the above strategies, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email.